Chapter 707: News and Hidden Realm

~Ding~

Moon’s phone chimed as the payment landed.

He pulled it up and checked the figure, six hundred million transferred clean into his account, then looked back at the official with a nod.

"Payment received. Thank you."

The official nodded in return, closing his folder.

"A pleasure doing business. And we remain very interested in the heart. If you ever decide you’d like to sell it, whether for the Black Tortoise blood or anything else in our catalog, reach out directly. The offer stays open."

"I’ll keep it in mind," Moon said.

The official rose and extended his hand, and Moon shook it.

"Have a safe journey home. The orbital’s waiting for you outside. And once again, on behalf of the Association, thank you for what you did in that gate. The kingdom won’t forget it."

Moon inclined his head and took his leave.

He found Selene and Yara in the lounge where they’d been waiting, the two of them looking up as he entered.

"All done?" Selene asked, rising from her seat.

"All done. And a lot richer for it." Moon allowed himself a small grin. "Let’s go home."

The three of them made their way out to the waiting orbital, boarded, and settled in for the trip back to the capital. The shuttle lifted off, the city shrinking beneath them, the frozen gate and everything that had happened inside it fading into the distance behind them.

Ahead lay home.

During the long journey home, Selene brought up something more sensitive.

"Hey. You remember that clown Marcus? The one we almost fought during the tournament?"

Moon nodded. "What about him?"

"I was curious whether he survived the dark organization’s attack or not. So I had one of my brother’s subordinates run a search for me." She paused. "Turns out he’s dead."

Moon’s eyes glinted with interest.

"How did he die?"

The last thing he remembered was Marcus fleeing the battlefield alongside Sarah. He hadn’t fallen during the fighting itself, at least not that Moon had witnessed.

"He died outside the dome the Association put up," Selene said. "The best guess is he got hold of an access token from one of the Surpassers who died, and used it to slip out before the barrier locked down. He made it past the dome before he was later killed out there."

"I see."

"But that’s not the shocking part." Selene’s expression darkened. "My brother’s subordinate said he died brutally. His family launched their own investigation into it, trying to recover any DNA or footage of who killed him so they could take revenge. And the results came back." She met Moon’s eyes. "It was Sarah."

Moon went still.

"You mean..."

"Yes. His own girlfriend. The snake." Selene’s voice carried disgust. "She got him past the barrier, and then she killed him the moment they were clear."

Moon absorbed it in silence for a moment.

It fit perfectly with what he already knew about Sarah, she was a very calculative person that only did things that benefited her. Once your use was over to Sarah, she wouldn’t hesitate to discard you like trash.

"Sarah is now under the wanted individuals list. She is likely part of the dark organisation."

"She never struck me as the type to have limits," Moon said finally, "But even I didn’t expect her to kill him...judging by her character, she likely used him as tribute to enter the dark organisation and start a new life with them..."

"That’s what makes her dangerous," Selene murmured. "Marcus was awful, but he was loyal to her, in his own pathetic way. And she killed him like he was nothing." She looked out the window at the passing clouds. "People like that don’t have anyone they won’t betray. Which means wherever she’s ended up, she’s going to keep climbing over bodies to get there."

Moon said nothing, but his mind turned the information over carefully.

Sarah was with the dark organization now. Klein, Ace, the recruitment in the wasteland, all of it connected.

She would be a problem, eventually. He put her away with the rest of the threats gathering on the horizon.

"Thanks for looking into it," he said. "It’s good to know where people ended up."

Inside a well-hidden base carved into the wasteland, Klein addressed a gathered assembly of the organization’s recruits.

"We’ve located a hidden realm within striking distance of our territory. As most hidden realms, this one carries a restriction. Only two people may enter and both must be Evolvers."

Murmuring broke out immediately among the assembled Evolvers.

A hidden realm was a rare and precious thing. Those who entered and survived almost always emerged stronger, sometimes dramatically so, the realms offering treasures, trials, and opportunities that could accelerate a fighter’s growth by leaps. Every Evolver in the room hoped to be chosen, and the whispers carried that hunger.

Klein raised a hand, and the murmuring died.

"As I’ve told you before. Work hard, prove your worth, and you’ll receive our full support. Nothing here is given freely, but nothing is withheld from those who earn it." His eyes swept the crowd. "For this opportunity, we’ve selected the following two. Sarah Vixen. Margret Jones. Step forward."

Sarah stepped forward calmly.

Her expression was tranquil, and unreadable to anybody that tried to decipher it. She wore a short black skirt and a plain white t-shirt. She’d risen fast in the organization since her defection, and this selection was proof of it. The organization had chosen to invest in her, turning her into something more dangerous with every opportunity they handed her.

Margret Jones stepped forward right after, a wide smile spreading across her face, a smile that turned heads and left more than a few of the watching recruits visibly taken with her. She wore a fitted black latex outfit that hugged her body, highlighting all her curves.

She was called, "The Dangerous Beauty", by the other recruits.

Klein looked over the two of them and nodded.

"You two will enter the realm together. Survive...and your life will be nothing like you imagined. Die, and you will be forgotten."

Sarah inclined her head slightly, her tranquil expression never shifting.

She understood exactly what this was. The organization rewarded results, and it had noticed hers.

Sarah had finally found the place that rewarded her for her actions, a place where the people in power were actively handing her the tools to grow stronger and she had no intention of wasting a single one.

The two women were escorted out to begin their preparations for the hidden realm, and Klein watched them go, a small, calculating smile on his face, another pair of blades being sharpened for the war still to come.